Not Just A Fad
by postcardfromsomewhere
Summary: This is based off of CP Coulter's amazing work called Dalton. I don't own her characters, or any story line of hers. I also do not own Glee. Ethan/OC. Alison Tate is doing her brother a favor. She didn't think she'd fall for a certain twin while doing so.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from CP Coulter's wonderful Fan Fiction _Dalton_, nor do I own any of her story lines. I only own Alison and Alden Tate. And I also don't own Glee. **

**AN: Just wanted to let you guys know, this story goes from first person and then to third. It was something I couldn't really avoid. Sorry if it bothers anyone. :/ And please read the Author's note at the end of the story!**

**Hope you enjoy**

Title: Not Just A Fad

Author: honestxliving

Pairing: Ethan Brightman/OC

* * *

**Not Just A Fad**

My name is Alden Tate, I transferred to Dalton Academy in the Fall because of their music program as well as a promised scholarship to any Ivy in the country upon graduation.

..

Okay, I totally just lied.

Well, maybe not about the latter, but the former.

My name is not Alden, it's actually Alison. Alden, or "Al", as some like to call him, is my twin brother who is currently on a "road trip" across the country to "find himself." He was supposed to go to Dalton because my father is an Alumni. Dalton guaranteed Al a full ride as well as any type of benefits as long as he kept his GPA up. At first Al was thrilled; he loved his education, succeeding and doing whatever he had to make sure he got to the top. Then out of nowhere, he got into a huge argument with my father over what was best for him, and said he didn't want to go to Dalton anymore.

My father obviously did not take this very well, and said if he didn't go to Dalton, he would have his bank account frozen and all promises he ever made to him revoked.

But my brother still wouldn't have it. He packed his stuff right before he was supposed to leave for Dalton and took off without a word to anyone except for me.

To make this as short and brief as possible, he begged me not to tell dad, so he convinced (don't ask me how, to this day I still have no idea) me to go to Dalton as him. It was only for a semester, he promised, as he figured he would be back by Christmas from his trip and he would resume Dalton after winter break.

Well of course, not everything has gone as planned. Sure, the wig and lack of breasts have helped me pull off the "boy" look, but I'm afraid something worse has happened.

Not only did Al's car break down and pushed him back two months of travelling, I let my emotions get the best of me.

I fell in love.

* * *

His name is Ethan, Ethan Luke Brightman.

He's a twin like me; Ethan and Evan literally cannot be separated. If they could, they would prefer to be conjoined twins so they would never have to leave each other's side. And though they both look identical and act the same way all of the damn time, there are very specific things about them that go unnoticed. Those specifics are why I fell for one brother and not the other, or both of them.

I remember meeting him; I was bringing my trunk up to the door of Windsor and before I could even reach the handle, Ethan opened the door, holding a Nerf gun. I immediately took in his profile. He was tall and lean, his blonde hair brushing in front of his piercing blue eyes. The sleeves to his uniform were rolled up revealing his forearms, which were toned. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and smiled. He looked me up and down, and I started to get worried because I thought he had noticed my girlish ways right away. However, after he gave me a one over, he stuck out his hand and said,

"Ethan Brightman. You must be the new guy - Alden Tate, right?"

I smiled and stuck out my hand, "Yes, nice to meet you Ethan."

He smiled as we shook hands. I looked into his bright blue eyes as he said, "Well don't be shy, bring in your trunk and let's get to Nerfin'!"

I laughed as I lugged my trunk into the foyer and he hurled a Nerf gun my way. I caught it with ease, thanking God I played softball for the past 4 years.

Ethan then started sprinting toward the other side of the staircase and around a corner so I couldn't see him. I smiled as I got my game face on and walked slowly to that corner of the room where he last was. I turned around and pointed my gun at Ethan, and shot him. I laughed and said,

"Gotcha!" When I saw the confusion on his face and a Nerf Gun nowhere in his possession I asked,

"Ethan, where's your gun?"

All of the sudden I felt I soft but firm push on my back. I turned around and there was Ethan, holding his Nerf Gun pointed at me.

"GOT YOU! Take that new kid! Oh, I see you have my twin brother Evan. "

I smiled and took the hand that Evan had stuck out to me, "I'm Al, nice to meet you Evan."

Evan grinned and then looked down at our hands shaking. I released his hand once he looked down and noticed a somewhat grim and confused expression on his face.

_Oh my god, he knows. He must know. The look on his face-_

"Nice to meet you too, Al." Evan said coolly and he turned back to his brother,

"So you gave the newbie my Nerf gun? Are you serious?"

"What? You weren't around and I wanted to play. And this guy is good, he got you straightaway."

Evan rolled his eyes and said with a smirk on his face, "Well, it looks like we found our new best friend, haven't we Ethan?"

"Yes Evan, yes we have." Ethan said, grinning at me from ear to ear.

* * *

But that was two months ago. Now everything is a mess. Ethan won't talk to me. And my secret is out.

So by now, it was a week into the semester. Everyone was getting accustomed to starting school again and whatnot.

As it would seem, Windsor holds an annual party for new boarders.

AKA me.

It was probably the best party I have ever been to. For boys, they really know how to entertain. Blaine and Kurt (who had been referred to "Alice" by the twins on one too many occasions) started the karaoke machine and that gets the party started. Ethan and Evan (who I learned were known as the "Tweedles", which makes me question the sanity of the house) walked me around, introducing me to everyone. Well, Ethan did most of the talking, Evan tended to grumble and nod occasionally whenever my name was mentioned. Every so often I would catch him glaring at me, or just starting at me for no reason at all. The thought of being found out and caught kept swimming through my head, but Ethan would interrupt them by introducing me to someone new in the house that I hadn't met yet.

By the time the party was in full swing, I was completely convinced that everyone in the house was fooled by my disguise.

Everyone that is, except for Evan.

Whenever I went to grab a soda, he looked at my hands as if his life depended on it. Then he would give me a sort of contemplating glare that had me running away from him and finding Ethan. It was something that would not leave my mind for the rest of the party.

Once the party was over, which was well after 3 AM, Ethan walked me back up to my room. When we reached my door, he said,

"I'm really sorry about Evan; I don't know what's gotten into him. We've had other friends before – he must be threatened by you, which is weird, because he normally isn't like this." He looked genuinely concerned about him, so to ease his suffering, I said,

"It's okay, he's probably just watching after you. I get that."

He nodded and then I turned to go into my room. I opened the door knob when I heard Ethan behind me,

"Hey Al-"

I turned around and felt little soft bullets hit my chest. I looked up and saw Ethan with the biggest, most adorable smile I've ever seen. He was holding his Nerf Gun in an attack position. I looked at him stunned,

"Where did you get that Nerf Gun?"

He stood up and shrugged, "I have my ways. But this one is yours." He tossed the Nerf Gun to me and I almost dropped it, but managed to catch it without making too obvious. I grinned and said without thinking in my normal excited girl tone,

"Oh my goodness this is,- I mean, this is uh, awesome. Thanks! I'll uh, see you tomorrow?"

Ethan nodded and said, "Yeah for sure." He scratched the back of his neck and gave me a quizzical look, then left without another word.

I mentally smacked myself in the face and walked back into my room, thanking god my little slip up didn't make Ethan question me.

After that night, Ethan and I were literally attached at the hip, even more so then he and Evan were. We did everything together. Homework, classes, lunch, naps, Nerf Gun fights, paintball, devising plans against our Prefects, and figuring out ways to sneak into Dwight's room just to name a few.

It must have been through all of this time that I started to fall in love with him.

He is crazy, yes, but he has his moments.

I love when he's doing his homework or he has to read something. He has to wear reading glasses, and he concentrates so hard but he's so smart that he doesn't even need to.

He has this way of making sure everyone is comfortable. He makes sure Reed, the short, strawberry blonde, accident prone artist doesn't get hurt while walking down the stairs. He listens to all of Dwight's ridiculous theories about how there are Demons approaching and different ways to go about protecting Windsor without a roll of his eyes or a sarcastic remark.

And during all of this time, I mostly notice all of the differences between Ethan and Evan.

Ethan is more relaxed and calm, while Evan is more uptight about certain things. Ethan sometimes wants to always play and be stupid and just have fun, but Evan has to work to keep his GPA at a 4.0, so it's not always fun and games with him.

Ethan is completely and adorably charming and Evan just shoots me death glares whenever he gets a free moment.

I'm rambling. Right, onto why my life totally sucks.

A few nights after the party, I was replaying a conversation I had with Ethan in my head. I don't know why it was so important that I needed to think of it again.

"_Can I trust you, Al?"_

_Ethan looked up from his Chemistry book and took off his reading glasses to look at me._

"_Yeah, why?"_

_Ethan smiled and stood up from his desk and walked over to his closet that stood parallel to his bed that I was sitting on. He opened it and in it was the biggest collection of random junk I have ever seen. I stood up to take and closer look and whispered,_

"_What is all of this?"_

"_This sir, is my biggest secret. I go through different fads as if there was no tomorrow."_

_I couldn't help myself; I started laughing until I couldn't breathe. Ethan gave me an almost death glare and that immediately stopped me. I collected myself and looked deeper into the closet. There were golf clubs, tennis rackets, Rollerblades, an abundance of fanny packs, a different assortment of Nerf Guns, pet rocks, marshmallow guns, rainbow and metal Slinkys, Pokémon cards, and a whole bunch of other things I couldn't even imagine. _

_I looked from the closet and then to Ethan. He seemed to be in deep thought as he looked through his collection. I asked,_

"_Does Evan know about this?"_

"_Of course he does, he always goes along with my fads. As you can see, our Nerf Gun wars are the current one I am into."_

_I smiled and looked back to the collection. I couldn't help myself as I whispered, _

"_Thanks for telling me this."_

"_It was bound to happen eventually." _

Remembering this, I realized that I had to tell everyone in the house, especially Ethan, the truth. I had to tell them everything. Ethan said he trusted me, what kind of person would I be if I kept lying to him like this?

* * *

All of us from Windsor were walking back from the Fall concert, and I looked over to Ethan who was walking next to me. He had his arm resting on my shoulder that was closest to him, causing a great deal of butterflies to enter into my stomach. I sighed and as we reached the door to Windsor, I knew I had to tell him.

Blaine opened the great oak doors that led to the foyer, we all walked in and I stayed behind to close the door. But before anyone could walk up the stairs, I spoke.

"Guys! Wait up."

All of the boys turned and looked around at me. I suddenly felt my face get hot and my palms started to sweat. I knew I was going to regret what I was going to say,

"I have to tell you all something."

Ethan looked surprised and entertained. I looked at him, fearing what he was going to say.

"I have been lying to you, to all of you. I-I, I am not who you really think I am. My name is not Al."

The room was silent, and everyone just stared at me with their eyes wide.

Dwight then spoke, "Then who are you?"

I sighed, I moved my hand up to my wig, pulled it off and let my long dark brown hair flow from its restraints while saying, "My name is Alison Tate. I'm Alden's twin sister."

All of the boys' jaws dropped. I couldn't bring myself to look anyone in the eye. I kept my head down and played with the lining of my wig. It felt like hours after one person spoke,

"How could you?"

I turned to see Ethan highly upset, eyes glassy, fists in balls and red in the face.

"Ethan, I-I didn't want to hurt anyone, especially you! I never thought it would get like this."

"You lied to me," He said, backing up toward the staircase, looking at me in shock and disbelief.

I walked closer to him, "I know. I'm so sorry, I didn't think I would-"

"You would what? What did you think you wouldn't do? Mess around with all of us? Did you think you could get away with this without any repercussions?"

"What? No! I- I came here for my brother, Al. If you'd just let me explain-"

"I don't want to hear what you have to say. We're done. Never talk to me again."

With that, he went around the corner and into another room, where Blaine and David rushed to see if he was okay.

The other boys looked from me to the path of hate that Ethan had left, and then back to me. One by one, they shook their heads at me and started to walk away, but Evan stayed behind.

We stared at each other for a long time, and then I said,

"You knew, didn't you?"

He nodded. "I did. Your hands said it all. They are too small and lady like. Your fingers are too short. "

I sighed and shook my head, attempting to hide my tears. I walked to the staircase, past Evan and sat on the first step. I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. Looking up I saw Evan sit next to me.

"You love him, don't you? Ethan you- you love him."

I nodded slowly. "How did you know?"

"Once I knew who you were, I watched you closely. You see things in him that others don't. You see him as a separate person. Not just a 'Tweedle.' I see that. It's hard for people to separate us from each other. That's how I know you love him – you see him for _who he is, _not for who _we_ are."

I smiled as I felt a tear roll down my face. I felt Evan wipe it away as he said,

"I can't tell you if he loves you or not, but he is very fond of you. You are his best friend, after me of course." He said grinning.

"What am I going to do?"

"Wait it out. As far as school goes, we will all keep your secret. You don't have to hide anymore, in the house anyway. If you want to stay at Dalton, you're going to have to keep up the charade during classes."

"I'm sorry I lied. I did this to protect Alden."

"I know, but Ethan doesn't see that." Evan said as he put an arm around me.

* * *

"Ethan, relax."

"I can't relax. He-SHE lied to me- to us. She lied to ALL of us. The school board- everyone!" Ethan was pacing around the room he and his brother shared. Evan walked over to him; put both hands on his shoulders and pushed him down onto his bed while saying,

"We know. But you have to forgive her. She must have a good reason for lying. There has to be a reason why she is here."

"I don't give a fuck okay? I don't care about her, just get her out."

"We can't. Her dad's legacy, you'll get kicked out before she does, if anything. You can't tell anyone her secret, either."

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because, as lame as this sounds, we are gentlemen of Dalton. We don't tattletale."

"Gentlemen of Dalton don't lie either."

"Technically, she's not a gentleman."

* * *

Evan sat in his room thinking about the events that took place a few days before. He knew something was up with Ald- erm, Alison when they first met. And was surprised Ethan didn't pick up on it.

Ethan walked into their room after a quick shower and plopped onto his bead, face down in his pillow and groaned.

"Sup bro?"

Ethan shook his head and groaned.

"You shouldn't have yelled at her."

"I know." Ethan said sitting up on his bed.

"And you should probably go apologize. And listen to her side."

"I know."

"Now."

"No. Tomorrow."

Evan sighed, rolled over on his side, and turned off the lights.

"Goodnight Ethan."

* * *

A few weeks later, Ethan was sitting at the counter in the kitchen drinking coffee when he heard Blaine run in.

"Ethan! We're doing a sing-off!"

Ethan looked up from his morning paper and shrugged.

Blaine took the paper and said, "You're going. Alison is singing."

Ethan rolled his eyes and tried to grab the paper from Blaine, who quickly pulled it farther away from him.

"You have to go, Ethan. You have to."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Alison grabbed the guitar Blaine let her borrow and watched as everyone assembled into the common room.

Blaine walked up to the "stage" with David as he stood next to Alison. Blaine looked to everyone sitting on the chairs and couches and said,

"I picked out of the hat. It's Alison's turn. Don't worry, she doesn't sound awful, I heard her."

Everyone laughed and smiled at Alison and David who were up on the stage. David nodded to Alison who started strumming her guitar and singing.

_So scared of breaking it that you won't let it bend_

_And I wrote two hundred letters I will never send_

_Sometimes these cuts are so much deeper then they seem_

_You'd rather cover up, I'd rather let them bleed_

Evan looked at Ethan, whose face was emotionless. Evan just sighed and shook his head at his idiotic brother.

_So let me be, and I'll set you free_

Alison smiled at David as he started to harmonize with her.

_I am in misery_

_There ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah_

_Why won't you answer me?_

_The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah_

_Boy, you really got me bad_

_You really got me bad_

_Now I'm gonna get you back_

_I'm gonna get you back_

_Your salty skin and how it mixes in with mine_

_The way it feels to be completely intertwined_

As Alison sang and glanced around the room, her eyes rested on Ethan as she sang the next part.

_Not that I didn't care, it's that I didn't know_

_It's not what I didn't feel, it's what I didn't show_

_So let me be, and I'll set you free_

Evan looked back to his brother. If her glances at his brother didn't do anything for him, then she had no chance at all.

_I am in misery_

_And there ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah_

_Why won't you answer me?_

_The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah_

_Boy, you really got me bad_

_You really got me bad_

_And now I'm gonna get you back_

_Now I'm gonna get you back_

_You say your faith is shaken, and you may be mistaken_

_You keep me wide awake and waiting for the sun_

_I'm desperate and confused, so far away from you_

_I'm getting near, I don't care where I have to roam_

_Why do you do what you do to me, yeah?_

_Why won't you answer me, answer me yeah?_

_Why do you do what you do to me yeah?_

_Why won't you answer me, answer me yeah?_

_I am in misery_

_And there ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah_

_Why won't you answer me?_

_The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah_

_Boy, you really got me bad_

_You really got me bad_

_And now I'm gonna get you back_

_I'm gonna get you back_

Alison strummed out the last notes and breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone clapped and cheered for her as her song finished. She gave a quick bow with David and left the common room quickly, not bothering to look at Ethan's face.

* * *

"Ethan?"

"Yes Evan."

"Talk to her."

"Why?"

"You know why?"

"…"

"You love her."

"…"

"Talk to her."

"No."

"Ethan."

"What?"

"Please. Both of you have been moping around here for the longest time –"

"Listen Evan, I love you to death, but you don't know what's going on inside my head."

"Then tell me."

"She's a liar. But she's the coolest girl I've ever met. But I can't trust her anymore. And I hate her. But I-"

"You love her. That's all you need. Go tell her."

Ethan looked down and started to fidget with a button on his blazer. "I can't."

"Why?"

"She hates me."

"No she doesn't. That song was for you. She misses you."

Ethan just shook his head.

"Ethan, she does. I can see it in her eyes. And I can see it in yours too. You're miserable without her. Stop lying to yourself, stop being a prick and go to her."

Ethan got up, walked over to his door, opened it, and slammed it behind him. Evan could hear the sound of running feet race down the hallway. He smiled to himself and shook his head.

* * *

A knock at her door made Alison lift her head up from her pillow.

"Who is it?" Alison replied.

"Ethan. Can I come in?"

Alison quickly went to her mirror to see if mascara was running down her face from crying. Then she realized her lights were off. She sighed and sat back down on her bed in the middle of it, cross legged.

"Yes."

Ethan opened the door and walked in.

"You're lights are off."

"I know."

"Why?"

"So I can't see myself."

"You're nuts."

"I've noticed."

Ethan chuckled and walked toward Alison's bed.

"I can't see you."

"I'm on the bed."

"Okay."

He walked over to the bed and sat down on it, not realizing he was sitting right in front of her. But she knew.

"Alison, I-"

"Me first? I'm sorry I lied to you. But I had to. I intended on lying low and not making any friends, but you were the first person I saw when I got here. I couldn't ignore you after that. So I had to keep up the appearance even more."

She reached for his hand, and he jumped, but let her touch him, "I didn't want to hurt you. That was never my plan."

Ethan sighed and reached for her other hand, holding it, "I know. I reacted really badly. I just couldn't believe you lied to me after all that time we spent together. And you're a girl - don't hate me for being a bit surprised and shocked."

Alison laughed and said, "I don't. I won't. I love you too much to ever hate you."

Ethan grinned, Alison noticing his bright white teeth in the dark.

"Can I try something really quick?"

Alison's heart raced, "Sure."

She felt the weight of his body move closer to her. She felt one hand on her knee. Then she felt a hand cup her face. Then she felt his breath on hers. And then he kissed her.

She kissed him back and put her hands on his waist, trying to bring him closer. He easily complied and lightly fell on top of her as she went to lie down on her bed. He broke apart from her to breathe, but was able to say,

"I know I have a lot of fads and that you think they're stupid. But you are certainly not one of them; you're never going out of style for me."

Alison smiled and kissed him again. "That was so corny," she said when they broke apart.

"I know - its part of my charm."

He grinned and kissed her, feeling her smile against his lips when he did.

* * *

**FIN. **

**Author's Note:**

Okay, so, a few things.

1. I know these characters are totally OOC. I mean, obviously, no one can ever write these characters as well as CP Coulter can, but I thought maybe I would try something different. I hope I don't offend anyone on my take of the twins. I wanted to make them different so that way Alison could only love one instead of both.. which I know is not what CP Coulter is going for, but.. I just wanted to try something different. I don't know.

2. I also know there is a story in the Dalton Community that is somewhat similar to this. I have/had absolutely NO intention of taking her idea. I wrote this after I saw She's The Man for the umpteenth time. I wrote this before I even knew of the Dalton Community. But, the author, LamoreVinceraTheFirst, wrote an absolutely wonderful story called "Reflection" that everyone should check out. Our stories kind of have the same idea, but kind of don't at the same time. In any rate, it's a wonderful story, I had no intention of stealing her idea, and yeah, it's wonderful.

3. I also do not own Misery by Maroon 5. It is a wonderful song though!

4. I appreciate criticism, so please review!

I hope ya'll enjoyed it!

Love, honestxliving


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